Encinitas adds restrictions on new downtown bars

Council rejects temporary ban, but OKs new regulations

ENCINITAS  Encinitas will enact a host of restrictions on new alcohol-serving establishments, but it won’t ban them from opening in the city’s downtown, the Encinitas City Council decided late Wednesday.

It was the second time in two months that the council has stopped short of establishing a temporary ban on new bars.

Wednesday’s vote came after hours of presentations and public testimony. Bar owners told the council they had made impressive strides within the last 45 days to resolve alcohol-related problems in the downtown. Neighbors and people who fight alcohol abuse regionally said there was still plenty of room for improvement.

Council members expressed satisfaction with the recent work done by the Encinitas Hospitality Association — a newly formed industry group — but said self-policing wasn’t going to solve all the problems related to downtown drinking that range from drunken driving incidents to vomit on city sidewalks.

“It’s not a rejection of what the (Encinitas Hospitality Association) has done — I like what they’ve done,” said Councilwoman Lisa Shaffer, who voted in favor of the failed, temporary moratorium both on Wednesday night and in July.

Councilman Mark Muir, who voted for the ban in July and against it Wednesday night, said he also liked what the association was doing and wanted more time to gauge its effectiveness.

“To be fair, I think we need to give the association a chance to see what they can do, what we can do together,” he said.

Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar, who voted against the moratorium both times, said the city needs to proceed carefully, so that it works in partnership with the new association rather than in conflict.

All of the City Council members backed some new restrictions on alcohol-serving establishments Wednesday night.

The council unanimously voted to require any new alcohol-serving establishments to get city Planning Commission approval. Newcomers won’t be eligible for the simpler administrative OK that has been the process until now.

The council also unanimously agreed that new establishments will need to submit “operational management plans,” spelling out what hours they will be open and whether they are a bar, restaurant or combination of the two. Those details will be included in their permits, so they can’t later morph from a restaurant that serves alcohol into a bar, council members said.

And, the council also unanimously agreed to explore restrictions that would ban “party buses” from dumping people into downtown’s bar scene; and it asked the city manger to create a public outreach plan so downtown residents will know who to call when they have complaints about noise, vandalism or fighting.

The council split over whether to increase regulations on existing establishments. In a 3-2 vote, with Gaspar and Muir opposed, the council decided to ask city planning employees to look into establishing what’s known as a “deemed approved” ordinance.

These ordinances, one of which was just approved in El Cajon this week, create a permit system for existing alcohol-serving businesses. Businesses are required to meet certain standards related to noise, trash and police complaints in order to keep their new permits.